So, that brings us to the next point, don't tuck in like you've just crossed the Sahara. Thais eat slowly, enjoy the food, conversations, laughter and company. Each of you will be given a plate of rice and a soup bowl. Someone near you will ladle some soup into a bowl and you help yourself to the spread. But wait! Don't go shovelling a mountain of your favourite curry onto you plate, there'll be none left for the others. The polite way to do it is to take as much as you can eat in one or two mouthfuls. Savour it and then move onto another flavour. Thais like to pick at food, helping themselves to the dishes one spoon at a time. Take your time and try everything.
Now for the next problem. There are no knives on the table. Well, this is because all the food as been diced before cooking, pretty smart, eh? Traditionally, Thais ate with their hands, and in the rural areas or in some specialist restaurants this still occurs, especially when eating sticky rice and Isaan food. Nowadays they're far more refined and use a fork and spoon, but you might also find yourself using your mitts to eat with in some places in Thailand.
When eating, always wait for the host, usually the biggest noodle at the table (and the one whose going to pick up the entire tab) to invite you to help yourself before tucking in. When you're finished there's no need to place your eating irons together, but leaving food on your plate may indicate you didn't find the food tasty, which is always a big concern in Thailand. Remember, everything here is far spicier than you're used to so take tiny mouthfuls of new dishes.
So, when do you get to use chopsticks? Well, these are a Chinese import, so they are only used to eat noodles (and Chinese food of course), which can be tricky seeing as soft dripping noodles aren't the easiest things to grasp between two sticks; luckily they give you a small spoon to help.